Inhalation apparatus



Jan. 23, 1962 s. LEWIS 3,017,882

INHALATION APPARATUS Filed Sept. 16. 1960 INVEN TOR.

SAMUEL LEWIS A TITORNE Y 3,017,882 INHALATION APPARATUS Samuel Lewis, 2335 100th St, East Eimhurst, N.Y. Filed Sept. 16, 196i), Ser. No. 56,378 3 Claims. (Cl. 12d-198) This invention relates to inhalation apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus which can be worn on the person for extended periods without interfering with normal activities.

It has long been known that certain volatile substances when mixed with the inhaled air favorably influence diseased respiratory organs. Decongestatives and anti-allergenie substances have so been employed in the past. These and other medicinal agents were introduced into the atmosphere surrounding the patient in mixtures with steam or water vapor. In another method of application, a finely divided solid medicament is injected into the month by a non-toxic propellant in short bursts. In yet another known process for introducing pharmaceutically active materials into the body by way of the mucous membranes and epithelial tissues of the respiratory pass-ages, acartri'dge containing a volatile active agent is inserted in a nostril and air is inhaled through a passage in the cartridge so as tov entrain some of the active agent into the breathing air. These thereapeutic methods are not limited to diseases of the respiratory tract, but are generally used to advantage where medication i desired to bypass the stomach, yet injection or anal application is not feasible. It would frequently be desirable to extend inhalation therapy over a period of an hour or more, and to provide therapeutic agents at a slow, but'regular rate. This is not conveniently possible with any one of the known methods. The well-known steam Vaporizers which saturate the air of an entire room with medication permit the patient to move freely within that room, but they may make the room uninhabitable for others. They are also inherently wasteful of active agents. Only a minute portion of the active agent dispersed actually serves the intended purpose.

Any method which requires the patient to open his mouth to a narrowly aimed stream of medicated fluid, whether it emanates from a steam vaporizer or an aerosoltype injector, immobilizes the patient for the period of treatment if it at all permits prolonged use.

The conventional cartridges inserted in one nostril require the use of bothhands, one hand to hold the cartridge, the other hand to pinch the other nostril closed unless it be clogged by nasal discharge. When both nasal passages are free, one must be closed to prevent bypassing of the other which holds a cartridge. Any prolonged treatment of this kind seriously hampers normal activities.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide apparatus that permits prolonged continuous inhalation of substances volatile with the inhaled air without interfering with the normal activities of the treated person.

Another object is the provision of such apparatus which may be employed successively for the inhalation of a plurality of different pharmaceutical agents.

Yet another object is the provision of inhalation apparatus which can readily be cleaned and sterilized, if desired, for successive use by several persons.

3,ill7,882 Patented Jan. 23, 1962 A further object is the provision of inhalation apparatus to be worn by the patient on his face without discomfort.

An additional object is the provision of such inhalation apparatus which will fit many people without any special adaptation to the size or configuration of the face on which the apparatus is to be worn.

With these and other objects in view, the invention mainly resides in a support, in a hollow cartridge member mounted on the support and partly projecting therefrom, and in means for securing the support in an operative position to the face of the wearer with the projecting part of the cartridge inserted in a nostril of the face. Such an arrangement leaves the hands of the patient free for use in his normal activities, and permits him to move at will. Medication contained in the cartridge is inhaled through suitable permeable portions of the cartridge together with air. If both nasal passages are free, there are preferably provided two cartridges on the support, each inserted in one nostril so that all inhaled air must pass through the cartridges when the mouth is closed.

According to a more specific feature of the invention, the'support is made of pliable material and shaped approximately to conform to a human nose so as to approximately align the cartridges with the nostrils and to prevent their displacement. For actually locating the cartridges their engagement with the nostrils is relied upon. This engagement is practically airtight if the cartridges approximately conform to the nostrils because of the resilience of the latter. This is preferably supplemented by some resiliency in the cartridges themselves. It is thus not necessary that the support be a tightly fitting mask excluding passage of air between the support and the face. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the cartridges each consist of a cup-shaped container and of a releasable cover so that medication may be replaceably inserted in the cavity of'the container. The rate of release of the medication will substantially depend on the vapor pressure of the active agent if it is to be entrained in the gaseous state. A substantial measure of control is available by diluting the active agent with inactive material, by absorbing it on a substrate of high specific surface are-a, by compacting it into granules or tablets, and by other measures Well known in themselves and not requiring further explanation. The rate of volatilization of an active dust may be controlled by its particle size, by the size of the cartridge passages, and by similar variables.

For most convenient assembly and disassembly of the apparatus of the invention its is contemplated to form the support with openings which are aligned with the nostrils when the support is fastened to the head of the wearer. The cover portion or the cup-shaped container portion of a cartridge is inserted through the opening in the support until a shoulder on the portion abuts against a surface of the support. The other cartridge portion is then attached from the side of the other support surface so that the support is clamped between the two cartridge portions. The cartridge is thus closed and secured to the support in a single operation. The apparatu may be readily disassembled for refilling a cartridge, for changing from one type of medication to another, for cleaning or sterilizing the components thereof, or for any other purpose. The operation is simple and foolproof, and the apparatus has a virtually unlimited useful life.

Other features and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be better understood from the detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof when considered with reference to the annexed drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows the apparatus of FIG. 1 in side elevational section on the line 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows a detail of the apparatus of FIG. 1 in section on the line 44 on a greatly enlarged scale;

FIG. 5 is an end view of the device of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is an exploded plan view of the device of FIG. 4 on the scale of FIGS. 1 to 3.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, there is seen a support 10 having a central portion shaped to conform approximately to a human nose, the central portion being composed of a back portion 11, two side portions 12 and 13, and a bottom portion 14. Two wings 15, 16 laterally extend from the central portion and are joined by a resilient elongated fastening member 17, such as an elastic string. The support 10 is made of pliable plastic.

Two cartridge assemblies 18 and 19 of tubular cylindrical shape project axially from the bottom portion 14 of the support 10 substantially parallel to the back portion 11. As best seen from FIGS. 4 and 6, each cartridge assembly includes a cylindrical tube 20 of elastomeric material having one end closed by a perforated radially extending wall 21. The other open end of the tube 20 forms a shoulder abutting against the inside of the bottom portion 14 about an opening therein. The cartridge assembly is completed by a tubular plug 22 of similar material. The plug 22 has an end portion 23 dimensioned to pass through the opening in the bottom portion 14 and tightly to fit the bore of the tube 20. It carries an integral flange 24 which in the assembled condition of the cartridge cooperates with the shoulder of the tube 20 tightly to hold the rim of the bottom portion 14 about the opening therein so as to secure the cartridge assembly to the support. The tube 20, wall 21 and plug 22 define a cartridge cavity which is seen in FIG. 4 to be filled with a coarsely granular material 25.

The afore-described device is employed as follows:

The cartridges 18 and 19 are disassembled and thereby removed from the support 10. The material 25 which is desired to be inhaled is inserted into each tube 20. The plug 22 is passed through the opening in the bottom portion 14 and the tube is slipped over the end portion 23 of the plug 22. The assembled unit is then secured to the face of the person requiring medication in the following manner: the central portion of the support 10 is placed over the nose so that the two cartridge assemblies 18, 19 are aligned with the nostrils, and the tubes 20 are then inserted into the nostrils. The elastic string 17 is trained over the back of the neck. The unit is worn until the desired result is achieved.

Operativeness of the device is not predicated on closely conforming envelopement of any portion of the face by the support 10. The support merely serves to hold the cartridge assemblies in place and to prevent them from slipping from the nostrils. The support thus may be of many types of materials which have at least the slight mechanical strength required for the purpose. Plastic supports have been found to be comfortable to the wearer, readily cleaned after the use and inexpensive to produce in large numbers. The support may be made though of fabric, or even of rigid metal without departing from the scope or spirit of this invention.

The cartridge assemblies are preferably so designed that they seal the nostril in which they are inserted. Depending on the nature of the material 25, bypassing of a small amount of air around the cartridge may be permissible, but will usually detract from the effectiveness of the apparatus. The tube 20 is preferably made of elastomeric material such as soft rubber, of a plastic composition of rubbery consistency so as to be somewhat compressible. Combined with the natural resiliency of the human nostrils, one size of such a tube will satisfactorily fit most noses. The apparatus may, of course, be adapted to unusual dimensional condition, by substitution of a tube 20 of different external size and shape, yet bored to accept a plug 22 of standardized size.

The spacing and angular alignment of the tubes 20 on the support 10 is not critical if the bottom portion 14 of the support 10 is made of pliable material. More accurate fitting to the features of an individual is required if the support is rigid.

When repeated use of the apparatus is intended, the releasable connection of the support 10, tube 20 and plug 22 is preferred, but any two, or all three of these elements may be fixedly connected for a more limited range of applications. When the tube 20, plug 22, and support 10 are fixedly combined into a unitary structure, it may be impossible or impractical to recharge the cavity of the cartridge assembly.

The apparatus of the invention may be employed for adding to the inhaled air substances which are normally solids or semi-solid pastes, but which have appreciable vapor pressures so as to be taken up in the stream of inhaled air passing through the cartridges. Material compositions including finely divided solid particles capable of being mechanically entrained by the passing air may also be used to advantage. The apparatus is useful not only for adding constituents to the breathing air, but also for excluding undesirable substances. When filled with absorbent or filtering materials of which carbon black and cotton wool are examples, the apparatus of the invention may serve as a light and convenient mask permitting the wearer safely to breathe in a contaminated atmosphere for a period determined by the capacity of the tube 20.

For greatest effect, the apparatus of the invention relies on the check-valve effect of the human mouth. If air is inhaled through the nose only with the mouth closed, and exhaled through the open mouth, all inhaled air is charged with medication and no part of the medicinal substances is wasted to the ambient atmosphere. As every swimmer knows, one can train oneself quite easily to breathe in the described manner without any conscious effort. The apparatus of the invention thus permits inhalation of medicated air over protracted periods without interfering with the normal activities of the wearer.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosure relates only to a preferred embodiment of the invention, and that it is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the examples of the invention herein chosen for the purpose of the disclosure which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an apparatus for inhalation therapy and, the like, in combination, a support being of pliable material and shaped substantially to conform to the nose of the wearer, when secured to his face and being formed with two openings therein, two hollow cartridge members engaging said openings, respectively, and being mounted on said support and having respective portions spacedly projecting from the latter, each of said cartridges having a cover portion engageable with said projecting portion thereof to jointly enclose a cavity in said cartridge member, each of said two portions of each cartridge member having a shoulder abutting against said support from respective opposite sides of the latter adjacent the opening engaged by the respective cartridge member, one of said two portions partially passing through said opening for engagement with the other one of said two portions, each of said two portions being formed with an aperture for passage of air from the atmosphere through said cavity into a nostril of the wearer, and means for securing said support in an operative position to the face of a wearer with said projecting portions respectively inserted in the nostrils of said face.

2. In an apparatus as set forth in claim 1, said projecting portion being substantially cylindrical.

3. In an apparatus as set forth in claim 2, said projecting portion including a radially extending perforated Wall constituting a screen.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Heilman Aug. 4, 1914 Heimberg Sept. 10, 1918 Beadle Sept. 7, 1926 Anderson Sept. 8, 1942 Heisterkamp Apr. 11, 1950 

